Sunday, April 11, 2010

Wow, I've just realised I have not had time to write anything here for a whole month! Time truly is flying by me and mostly it's a good thing. I think, though, that if I were healthier and fitter than I am right now, some parts of my "two jobs" lifestyle would be easier i.e. I wouldn't be so damn tired all the time like I seem to be. I always have a plan in the back of my mind to give up coffee, and then I realise it's futile at the moment cos I don't know if I could stay awake all day until I got used to it! *blush*

Anyway, to the post title. Anyone who knows me would realise I pride myself on my independence. I HATE asking for help unless I really need it, and sometimes I don't ask when I should ask. No, make that often. On some level, I guess I think of people who constantly ask for help as needy and perhaps a bit weak and draining on their friends and family, and I resolve never to be like that. And yet...I think my attitude is a problem, because right now I DO need help. I need help with my weight. I have been struggling for quite a while now. It is only some kind of miracle I'm not heavier than I am, but I am STRUGGLING to keep it together. And I know that the ultimate answer lies in me, and that in the end it will be me who does it and finishes the job, but...I need help. What form that help will take is what I don't know yet.

I found something that really scared me last night. I Googled terms and phrases like "obesity support" and "obesity help" in the Brisbane/Sunshine Coast region, and guess what came up? LAPBAND LINKS. That's right - now, if you ask for help from a medical professional, they are going to go and tell you to get lapband/lap sleeve surgery. I guess they figure it's less of a drain on the health system if you have the operation. Sure, it costs more initially, but if you do become thinner, theoretically you won't be a "burden" on the health system for the next 20 or 30 years. Except...you may well be! This is what blows my mind. In my research, I also read that there is, or has been, a case before the courts where nine lapband patients on the Gold Coast are sueing their surgeon because all their operations were botched and they are all now either miserable, in pain, fat again, or all of the above. And they're now more of a drain on the health system than they ever were before! And yes, I know there are people for whom it does work and they go away, never to be heard from again or have any health/weight issues, but everyone I know seems to have had issues with them, some quite serious ones. Now, I'm sorry, but I have a HUGE problem with the fact that the first go-to solution for obesity these days is considered to be surgery. It just... I can't put it into words, even!

Anyway, rant over. The only place I've managed to find that offers the kind of help I think I need right now without telling me to have surgery is Wesley Weight Management, so I have made an appointment to see them this week. Wish me luck - I will report back later!